A short film by Ernö Metzner, which can be considered avantgarde cinema. The life of a man is documented for one day. His life gets out of control after he finds a coin on the street. When he tries to buy something with it, it isn't accepted because it is suspected to be counterfeit. Later he uses it to bet in a dice game, it brings him lots of luck, however it all bring the attention of two criminals who make plans to rob him. Running away from the men, he takes refuge in a prostitutes apartment. However she is also up to no good and only wants to rob him with the help of her boyfriend who is hiding behind the curtains. After being robbed he is thrown out onto the street, where he is beaten for good measure by one of the robbers. A charming film which brings to light the desperate situations people where in, in depression era Germany.


This movie is part of the collection: Short Format Films

Director: Ernö Metzner
Audio/Visual: Silent, Black and White
Language: German (English Subtitles)
Keywords: German; Avantgarde; Short film; Depression; Silent

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Deichbrand_1 - - July 31, 2009
Subject: Greed ruins people?
Does greed ruin people? Or do the bad have thelast laugh? These and more questions can be asked, as the setting is a quite strange one. One coin can bring ruin to people and whoever touches it, is marked with a stigmata and looses it all in the end. One person is run over by a car, another one robbed and then beaten.

The moral message remains unclear; is there such a thing here? It looks to me like a portrait, an impression of a time, but without putting the finger up and pointing towards a better behavior. Only upon reflecting it upon the current moral principles of the society it is possible to understand what is going on there and what the director's intentions were.

Would it be different today or is this a timeless topic? A setting, which is not bound to time or stage?

Reviewer: Strandlund - - July 17, 2008
Subject: Guy Madden meets David Lynch...
This short film is great! It is photographed beautifully and the ending sequence is worth the download. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Reviewer: jonc - - July 7, 2008
Subject: A moral play
This film was banned in Germany. The director tries to provoke fear of moral decline in depression-era Germany. He uses a seedy character who happens upon a counterfeit mark. The man is doomed to ruin as other low life want to take advantage of his brief luck.

This has some interesting visual work, innovative for its time. In particular, there is a dream sequence near the end that uses effects rarely seen in that era. It's artsy but entertaining as well. I personally held out hope for the man with the counterfeit coin.

Reviewer: bearpuf - - July 4, 2008
Subject: SUPERB
A terrific piece of cinema that tells a story without dialogue visually to pull out the trepidation and anxiety of the would be victim. If you had any inclination to visit the craps table this will clear your mind of such a thought.